The princess ground her teeth. Laluri was already someone they had to give their all to defeat, and now there was a new, seemingly stronger opponent. But they couldn't back down now.

She removed her dagger and pointed to the stranger. "Freeze. Who are you?"

The stunning stranger only smiled and didn't heed the warning until she stood before the shield of protective servants.

She looked toward Juwaira at the back and said, "I am Munniq, a sister-queen from the South." As if recalling something, she blinked and added, "Oh, I get it. You are not a queen yet but a princess. But you could be one if you do everything I ask."

She laughed after saying that. It was a soothing sound, but Juwaira felt no calm at the moment.

"Let's go in and talk," Munniq further added, leading the way to the princess' camp without awaiting her reply.

Juwaira turned to her men, boiling with anger - why had they allowed her to pass so easily and reach the tent? - only to realize then that they had all frozen to the spot. She couldn't remember when or how, but her men had all stopped moving.

They weren't dead since she could hear them breathe, but they had all gone unconscious on their feet.

"What have you done to them?" She said furiously turning to Munniq.

The woman walked on without stopping, and Juwaira was forced to tag along.

The uninvited guest offered herself a seat on the bunk with a sneer at her unwilling hostess. Meanwhile, Juwaira towered over her with a murderous expression.

"Princess Juwaira," the stranger finally said. "To be frank, you are in danger. And no one can save you except me. But it seems you already know that considering the message you sent to your mother."

As soon as Juwaira heard that, her countenance changed. Her eyes widened in deep shock. How could it have happened? She wondered, her body shaking.

"Oh... I see. You aren't aware." Munniq went on, nodding slightly. "Well, all your messages are nothing secret to us. That is why I ordered you to wait for me here. Being forthcoming with us would make everything easier for you, and there won't be any need to drag your mother here. But lying, even once, would be a ticket for bringing her here."

By now, Juwaira's head was swimming with an avalanche of thoughts. For months, she had been puzzling over how Laluri had found her and how she conned them and infiltrated them so easily.

She had revealed her location to no one except her mom. But she knew that her mom wouldn't betray her to the enemies...

"Good. Seems you have understood everything now." Munniq, who had been observing the play of emotions on Juwaira's face, commented.

"My question is quite easy. How did you know we are going to attack Shurein? And how were you able to slay eleven thousand of our men unnoticed?"

Juwaira took a step back. She had forgotten about Abdin transferring his scent to her in a bid to escape Silver Mask. She might lie about how she came across the information about the attack, but not about her scent.

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Munniq still had a sneer on her face as she waited for an answer.

"How smart did you think you are?" Juwaira asked, unblinking. "Many people have foreseen your antics towards Shurein. It is nothing surprising."

Munniq shrugged. "Maybe. But that still doesn't explain how my men died or how you happened to carry their scent along."

Juwaira clenched her teeth and tried to think of another lie.

"Oh," Munniq exclaimed, clapping her hands like a young girl. "Don't think I am that concerned about the dead men. It's nothing like that. You have reduced a fraction of my workload by doing me such a favor. I should thank you, but still, I need to know how it all came to pass."

Juwaira was dumbfounded. Such a twist. She thought Munniq was here for revenge, but that didn't seem to be the case. What exactly was happening? She was becoming more and more confused.

"What scent are you talking about? Are you telling me that there is a particular scent left behind by the dead? Well, if your mission here is to trick me, you have better be done with it. But don't think you can sway me with your lies about scents and whatnot."

Munniq tilted her head up to have a better look at Juwaira. Slowly, she opened her mouth and said, "Your victims were marked. And the mark usually transfers to their killer. Fabaens wanted to know the name of anyone who kills their men. Blame your bad luck on Yinbudika, he marked them." She huffed. "Why do you think I didn't kill them myself? I'll get busted, of course!"

Juwaira had her mouth wide opened by now. So that was why Abdin was saddled with their scents, and now her.

Yinbudika? She had never heard of such a name until now. But it seemed that Munniq had plans that were different from Silver Mask. Or was it a mere trick to glean information from her? She wondered.

"Tell me," Munniq hunched over to have a good look at the princess. "You don't seem to have the strength to kill eleven thousand of Yinbudika's men unaided and unnoticed. I can see through your soul and your strength isn't hidden because I can tell your limit." She paused and narrowed her eyes. "Was it someone that tricked you?"

Juwaira was quiet. Abdin had warned her that the scent would give her away the moment she met with the enemy. But it wouldn't have been this early if she hadn't sent that message home.

But how could she have known that the enemy was with her mom, whom she trusted completely? She still didn't know her mom was from Nánata.

The only way to solve the mess she had unwittingly gotten herself into, was to kill this intruder and then find her way swiftly to the castle to let Abdin know about what she did.

Her decision came a bit late, as at that very moment, she heard footsteps outside the tent. A pair of Laluri entered the tent dragging a woman tied between them...

Juwaira jumped back in shock as she saw the woman. It was her mom. And she wasn't chained or shackled in ropes but rather had coils of living serpents encircling both her hands and feet.

The princess shivered.

She instantly leaped up and stabbed at the Laluri closest to her. The maid swung her sword and smacked the dagger easily out of her hand. The other Laluri placed a knife on the captive's neck.

"I shall slay her if you move again," she threatened.

That stopped the princess in her tracks as she watched helplessly with tearful eyes.

Munniq clapped delightedly.

"Haha... I already warned you. Your time is up now. I told you this would happen if you didn't cooperate. I kept my word, and that would show you I am a woman of my word."

Juwaira watched her with a shaky body. She would kill her the first chance she got. No one would hurt her mom and go scot-free.

"Now, let's start from the beginning," announced Munniq much in the manner of a teacher before her students. "I am going to ask you a question, and if you lie, they will cut a piece of her. They will cut her also if you keep quiet. And they will cut her if you give me an unsatisfactory answer."

She turned to the Laluri pair and said, "Make sure to cut out a piece that could feed the princess a full meal. You will pay with your flesh if it goes any short of that." She paused and took a long look at Bidal before saying, "Her fingers will come next after her flesh, then the toes. Cut a limb after that."

She lay back on the bunk, shaking her legs and enjoying her sickening game. "How did you find out we are about to launch an attack on Shurein?"

"Someone informed me," Juwaira replied without hesitation.

"Who is that someone?"